Michael Nankin
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Michael Nankin (born December 26, 1955) is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He has been nominated for the
Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...
for his writing.


Career

Nankin's film career began in 1976 with a short film called ''Gravity''. Nankin co-wrote and co-directed the project with David Wechter. The pair followed this up with another short, ''Junior High School''. They produced their first feature-length project in 1980, a comedy called '' Midnight Madness''. Nankin scripted a horror film called '' The Gate'' which was released in 1987. The film marked the acting debut of
Stephen Dorff Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Backbe ...
. The same year he received a screenplay credit for ''
Russkies ''Russkies'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film starring Whip Hubley and Leaf Phoenix, directed by Rick Rosenthal with cinematography by Reed Smoot. Plot A few nights before Independence Day, three 12-year old military brats (Danny, Adam, ...
''. In 1989 he wrote a sequel to ''The Gate'' entitled '' The Gate II: Trespassers''. Nankin became involved in television as a director, writer and producer on '' Life Goes On'' in 1990. The series was created by Michael Braverman and focused on a Chicago family. He joined the series in its second season as a producer. He was promoted to supervising producer for the third season. He was promoted to co-executive producer for the fourth season. He scripted nine episodes of the series before its cancellation in 1993. He also directed eight episodes of the series. Nankin also wrote for ''
Picket Fences ''Picket Fences'' is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS televisio ...
'' in 1992. In 1994 Nankin became a consulting producer, writer and director for ''
Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois. ...
''. Nankin was nominated for a Humanitas Prize in the 60 minute category for his work on the ''Chicago Hope'' episode "Shutt Down" (co-written with Michael Braverman). He returned to ''Picket Fences'' as a director and producer in 1995, directing a single episode. He also wrote the story for a pilot episode for a new version of '' Flipper'' but was not involved with the ongoing series that followed. Nankin worked as a writer and director for ''
American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the ''American Gothic'' House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people efancied shoul ...
'' in 1995 and 1996. He wrote and directed the episode "Potato Boy" and directed a second episode. He also directed episodes of '' Moloney'' and ''
Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times'' ...
'' in 1996. Nankin served as a co-executive producer on the action series '' Roar'' in 1997. Nankin wrote one episode and directed one episode of the series, which starred
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
. Only 13 episodes were produced and the second half of the series did not air until 2000. In 2000 Nankin directed episodes of ''
Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...
'' and '' Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family''. In 2001 he directed the TV movie '' The Agency'' and several episodes of the series that followed the film. In 2002 Nankin directed the pilot episode for a series called ''Septuplets''. Nankin was also credited as an executive producer. The pilot was not picked up by a network. He also directed episodes of ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'' that year. In 2004 Nankin served as a consulting producer for the short lived WB family drama ''
The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...
''. He wrote one episode of the series. He directed episodes of '' Veritas: The Quest'' and ''
Invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
'' in 2005. He worked as a regular director for the reimagined ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
''. His involvement with the series began in 2005 with the second season and he directed eight episodes before its conclusion in 2009. He often worked alongside writing team
Bradley Thompson Bradley Thompson is an American television writer and producer known for episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1996–1999), ''The Twilight Zone'' (2002–2003), ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' ( ...
and
David Weddle David Weddle is an American television writer and producer known for episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1996–1999), ''The Twilight Zone'' (2002–2003), '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (200 ...
and five of his eight episodes were scripted by the pair. While working on ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'', Nankin also directed episodes of ''
The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...
'', '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', and ''
Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
''. He also directed the TV movie ''Break-In'' in 2006. In 2009 Nankin followed Thompson and Weddle from ''Battlestar Galactica'' to ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' and he directed their script for the twentieth episode of the ninth season. In 2020, he directed an episode on ''
The Good Lord Bird ''The Good Lord Bird'' is a 2013 novel by James McBride about Henry Shackleford, an enslaved person, who unites with John Brown in Brown's abolitionist mission. The novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013 and received generally po ...
''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nankin, Michael Living people American television directors American television writers American male television writers American male screenwriters Television producers from California People from Hollywood, Los Angeles 1955 births Screenwriters from California